Have you heard about Elon Musk's X app? If you are a reader of Curiocial, you must have. We talked about this sudden rebranding in our 'Farewell Birdie' article. If you're an iPhone user and excited to get the new 'X' app on your iPhone, there's a catch – you'll have to download Twitter first! Sounds perplexing, right? Let me explain.
Apple's App Store has a unique requirement for app names – they must consist of at least two characters. Due to this rule, the much-anticipated X app bears the name of its well-known counterpart, Twitter.
Strangely enough, while a simple X search yields results related to Xbox and VPN services, conducting an X-app search brings up none other than Twitter itself. You'll find the X logo displayed alongside the name Twitter, adding to the confusion.
Recently, both Google Play and Apple's App Store released updated versions of the Twitter app for Android and iOS users. These new versions feature the 'X' logo and, in some cases, Twitter's new name. It's quite a burst of variations in the branding, isn't it?
Here's where the burstiness continues. The iOS version of Twitter could not be officially renamed as 'X' on the App Store. Why? Well, because Apple's naming policy demands app names to be a minimum of two characters. So, even though iOS app names can be up to 30 characters long, they must adhere to this restriction.
Some users, desperate to get the X app on their devices, have attempted workarounds. One such suggestion from a software developer involved using 'X' and adding a space before or after it. Alas, it seems that wouldn't work either.
The humorous side of this situation emerges when Erik Berlin points out the obvious – Elon Musk already owns SpaceX! So, even with a space, the naming conflict remains unresolved.
Twitter's rebranding to X was an ambitious move by Elon Musk, but it seems to have caused some headaches. The transition has been rushed and inconsistent, leading to challenges not only in branding but also in legal and technical aspects.
Chanuka Nadun Perera
The change in the app's icon to 'X' triggered security alerts for Microsoft Edge users. Additionally, some regions, like Indonesia, mistakenly blocked the 'x.com' website, assuming it was adult content.
Sources: bleepingcomputer.com
